Life Isn't Something So Simple
by Lucorinth the Ripper
Summary: It takes place directly after chapter 29. Takiko returns, but doesn't want any of her friends to catch her own death sentence.


**Okay then. I'm still pretty new to fanfictions, so please forgive some of the crappy-ness. This chapter is really short because it's just an introduction. I would be very pleased if people could R&R. You have no idea how happy that would make me. :3 **

**I do not own Fushigi Yuugi Genbu Kaiden. Otherwise I'd be rolling in money.**

The silver light faded, replaced by a soft glow emanating from her surroundings

The silver light faded, replaced by a soft glow emanating from her surroundings. Takiko felt her feet make contact with something solid, and she reached her hands out to steady herself. She was back! The girl glanced around quickly to get her bearings. To the teen's surprise she found herself standing in the middle of the great tree from Nasaru forest. She already had so many memories of this place, most of which stuck out prominently now. Soruen's ascension to heaven, not only important to her for the brave warrior's sake, also marked Takiko's own acceptance of her mother's death. As Takiko stood within the large and twisted trunks around her, a realization she had nearly forgotten came floating back.

Life isn't something simple.

The girl closed her eyes and leaned backwards to recline on one of the knotted trunks. What had she really expected upon her return? Certainly she knew that her friend's apparent cruelty and dislike had been caused by their concern over her life, but she didn't know if she could tell them that. Sure, previously the girl might have just been able to patch up the severed bonds with the shichi seishi with only persistence, but now a certain something seemed to block that chance.

Tuberculosis, the sickness that had destroyed her dear mother. The disease that was now running through her own veins…

Had she already sealed the other's death sentences as well? How many people had she infected already? Surely they would have shown some signs by the time she had left. Signs that she had missed for herself? The teen let out a billowing sigh, and took a calming breath. Her worries seemed to fade away, and she vaguely wondered if it was due to the sacred nature of the tree. No matter what, it seemed her story was destined to become a tragedy. Yet, somehow putting it like that seemed to make it more poetic. Yes, she'd think of it like that from now on.

Takiko felt her eyelids begin to drop. The excitement from the last few days was catching up to her, draining away all of her energy. She would allow herself a moment –one of the precious moments of her limited life- to rest. Then she would find a way to save Tengu all on her own. It seemed slightly ironic. Her friends drove her away for her own safely, and now Takiko had to drive herself away from the others to return the favor. Poetic again, it seemed. She would save the country of Hokkan, and it would indeed be the last thing she'd do. For the first time, Takiko understood fully what being the priestess really meant. As her tired lids dropped down over her eyes, she saw a glowing smiling face. Taiitsukun, the child god, grabbed her hand and she felt more peaceful then she had been in years. Bittersweet memories of her worry free childhood filled her mind as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

"Miko!" The yell broke the silence, shattering the girl's sleep. It was vaguely familier, and her bleary mind scrabbled around to find its source. A pretty woman's face, flickering in the light of a tourch. Even though they were on oppisite sides of the stump bridge, Takiko could tell who it was. "Firuka." She muttered, straitening from her slumped position. The priestess opened her mouth to say something simple to break the ice, but a voilent gust of wind erupted right beside the other girl. Firuku was knocked sideways, but at that moment Takiko only had eyes for the person stepping out of the gale. It seemed that during the split secound that Uruki's woman form had registered in Takiko's mind, he had already changed back into a man. It seemed to be a natural reaction for him to be male around her now, just like her natural place would be beside him. Or in his arms…

No, she wouldn't allow herself to think about that. She had already put him in so much peril already. She would return the concern over his life they way he had hers. She would be cold, even if it made him hate her. **Especially** if it made him hate her.

"Why are you here!" He yelled, voice raised in anger, and, unless she was mistaken, fear. Takiko opened her mouth. Many things rose to the tip of her tongue. Her sickness, he knowledge about Genbu devouring her, how she couldn't forget him, how she couldn't leave her friends and the nation that was depending on her. Yet, she couldn't say any of it. The girl stared at him, finding herself finally closer to the person she had been dreaming about the entire time they were apart. The calm acceptance she had so recently created around her wavered, and she could feel the biting of tears behind her eyes.

Her time was so short. Even if she spent the rest of her life doing what she wished by being by his side, it wouldn't last long. No, it would hurt him more, much more. The girl wouldn't tell, and she would be distant. Again, it all seemed ironic.

After a full moments pause, an answer floated up to Takiko's lips. "I've come back to help."

**Okay, please leave a review so I can see what I'm doing wrong or right. More reviews faster updates. Thank you very much for taking the time to read my fanfiction.**


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